# Six Feet Under 7/18/04 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 19, 2004, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-7-18-04/255764 "2004-07-19T02:53:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-7-18-04/255764/41 "2004-07-20T13:45:23Z")
> [@BornOfStardust](#): > > I hope he won’t become unlikeable as a result of this though, and I hope (probably fruitlessly) that it doesn’t fuck up his relationship with Keith. ☹ They’ve been doing so well… How? They’ve probably the worst relationship on the show. They have nothing in common, everytime they try to do something together, one of them hates it, and they don’t even “feel” right together. The only thing that apparently works about them is the sex they have. > [@](#): > > I was pretty surprised as this season went along with how much more, well, _gay_ David was acting, at least in comparison to the first season. He’s so flamboyant and playful with Keith these days, and I just didn’t remember him being quite like that before. I thought it was just my imagination! He has been acting much more feily after the first season. I’m not sure what that’s about at all. > [@](#): > > I love it, don’t get me wrong, but I’m just wondering if this is a relatively new development or more gradual or what. No, he’s always been a stuffshirt with a wild side. Besides the fact that the series started with him dating a giant, tempermental cop, remember the hustler? ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-7-18-04/255764/42 "2004-07-20T14:40:08Z")
I don’t want to sound superficial, but does anything else think that Ruth looks a bit younger this season? Like maybe she’s had something done? The area around her mouth looks firmer, she was starting to get a teensy jowl line last year, but that’s gone now. I suppose it could be makeup too. The difference is so slight, only another old lady (me) might notice it. ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-7-18-04/255764/43 "2004-07-20T15:34:21Z")
I’m surprised so many here liked this episode. I’ve been a fan of the show since the beginning, but hated this one. (I haven’t been a big fan of this season so far in general either.) The whole kidnapping scenario was just so over the top unbelievable and not realistic. I just didn’t buy it. A 13 year old girl would have been able to escape numerous times. There were many chances where David simply could have ran away. The one time he did run away, he stopped 10 yards away (hiding behind a truck) and waited to be found. Why didn’t he just keep running? One of the things that (usually) makes HBO shows good is the realism. Once that goes down the tubes, there isn’t much left. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-7-18-04/255764/44 "2004-07-20T16:00:45Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > I got the sense that the whole fiasco with David and “Jake” was a metaphor for the risks of casual sex for David. Clearly David picked this guy up because he fantasizes about having a “guy on the side” who will do whatever he wants, the opposite of strong-willed Keith. Also, hypocritically enough, he forbade Keith to have sex with anyone else more than once, while longing to do just that himself. Then, even after “Jake” has shown himself to be a violent psycho drug addict kidnapper, David _still_ fantasizes about getting head from him. Basically, it’s like _Fatal Attraction_: the worst possible outcome of trying to get a piece of strange, that thrill of danger combined with the fear of a very bad outcome. Good post…I was thinking the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-7-18-04/255764/45 "2004-07-20T16:01:28Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > I don’t want to sound superficial, but does anything else think that Ruth looks a bit younger this season? Like maybe she’s had something done? > > The area around her mouth looks firmer, she was starting to get a teensy jowl line last year, but that’s gone now. > > I suppose it could be makeup too. > > The difference is so slight, only another old lady (me) might notice it. When I’ve seen Frances Conroy in interviews, she looks a lot younger than Ruth does. I think the make up artists and wardrobe designers deliberately make Ruth frumpy and mousy, while the actress is actually better-looking and prettier. Maybe they’ve just allowed Frances Conroy to look more like herself lately. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-7-18-04/255764/46 "2004-07-20T17:34:56Z")
Or perhaps they changed the makeup to make her look happier after the marriage to George (a kind of ‘glow’). It’d be interesting to see if they make her look older and older as the season wears on and George is doing wierder stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-7-18-04/255764/47 "2004-07-20T18:02:26Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > The one time he did run away, he stopped 10 yards away (hiding behind a truck) and waited to be found. Why didn’t he just keep running? See **mouthbreather** ’s post (which I’m sure you already did). It’s exactly what I thought, too. > [@](#): > > One of the things that (usually) makes HBO shows good is the realism. Once that goes down the tubes, there isn’t much left. I disagree. Okay, realism is great, but I need drama that goes above and beyond what network TV can give us. The Sopranos and SFU give us that. There’s more room for them to bring the crazy. That’s why it’s even more interesting than CSI (which I also like). I don’t think we’ll see Grissom smoking crack and fantasizing about a blowjob anytime soon. 😃 * * * Anyway, a lot of people are saying this season is slow, boring, etc. Now that something exciting happens, people are critical of it. I loved this episode. I was riveted, imagining what was going through David’s head while this guy was alternately torturing and pretending to befriend him. Many people are critical of Nate being so whiny, too. Not only did he lose his wife and is grieving, but he’s going through the guilt he feels for not loving her as much as she loved him. Give the guy a break. I can relate to Clair when I was her age. I had no idea who I was and I was always angry at the world. I hope her character blossoms by the end of this season. I just can’t bring myself to care about the George/Ruth relationship. She’s bugging me this season. He’s right–she needs to tend to her own messed up kids and leave his alone. Why would she want to set her friend up with his son? Because they have a common interest in revenge-poo? Rico, Rico, Rico. You’re screwed. ---
**Author:** ![BornOfStardust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@BornOfStardust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BornOfStardust)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-7-18-04/255764/48 "2004-07-20T20:44:20Z")
> [@pizzabrat](#): > > How? They’ve probably the worst relationship on the show. They have nothing in common, everytime they try to do something together, one of them hates it, and they don’t even “feel” right together. The only thing that apparently works about them is the sex they have. I don’t get that feeling about them, but again, I’m pretty much just going by what I’ve seen so far this season. Lately, they seem to be getting along very well, caring for one another, and just generally having fun when they’re around each other. Their love seems really strong right now. > [@pizzabrat](#): > > No, he’s always been a stuffshirt with a wild side. Besides the fact that the series started with him dating a giant, tempermental cop, remember the hustler? True. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-7-18-04/255764/49 "2004-07-20T21:11:02Z")
> [@](#): > > One of the things that (usually) makes HBO shows good is the realism. Once that goes down the tubes, there isn’t much left. I dunno; at least David’s kidnapping was physically **possible** , unlike the Urban Legend with the helium-filled sex dolls, which they used for a funny-death opener a few weeks back. Somebody mentioned that David had smoked a little weed and maybe done some poppers and E before; but crack is an entirely different level of drug. Forcing somebody to suck a rock with you is horrible; a kind of rape. ---
**Author:** ![tarragon918](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d26b3c/32.png) [@tarragon918](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tarragon918)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-7-18-04/255764/50 "2004-07-20T21:36:25Z")
Still don’t know what to make of Sunday’s show and am uncertain that I even want to view it again. While it made me sick to my stomach, I must admit that I was unable to turn away from it completely. It is hard to imagine what goes through the mind of someone in a situation like that; it’s easy to sit here and debate about why David didn’t try to get away on the several occasions he had the “chance” to – quite another in the actuality, I suspect. IMO, they were successful at conveying that, at least. I’m hoping that Jake won’t turn up again, but suspecting that he will … ☹ Brenda’s mother, as always, is so twisted! “Wildly inappropriate” only scratches the surface with her. I don’t think the musician is the guy for Brenda though. I had to laugh out loud at Ruth, trying to hook up the two dookie “gifters.” And George is getting a might snappish…wonder if Ruth is starting to have second thoughts about this marriage that she jumped into so eagerly! Poor Nate; just as he begins to open up about his grief, he’s interrupted by the fire alarm–it will be a while before he feels “comfortable” with it again, I fear. As to Claire… I think she’s going to do a bit of exploration in the weeks ahead. Should be interesting. But the real focus, I suspect, will be on David and Keith and he repercussions of David’s beating. ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy154](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ad7895/32.png) [@quiltguy154](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy154)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-7-18-04/255764/51 "2004-07-20T22:58:22Z")
I believe all the separate plotlines of this episode can be filed under “Wake-up Call.” It’s time for all concerned to take a really hard look at their situations, whether of their own making or just a stroke of fate. Ruth is definitely having doubts about ol’ George and her spending their sunset years as a couple. She leapfrogged into that marriage at warp speed, now, much to her regret. Rico is getting less out of the relationship with Sofia, if their was anything to be gotten at all[thanks, Ruth, for spilling the beans to Vanessa] Claire I believe is having serious doubts about the direction her life is taking. She’s always been so glib, and so quick to make people aware of what she’s thinking. The trouble she’s having articulating her points of view in the photography class are uncharacteristic. The class seems to be a drudge, something she can’t quite get a handle on. It’s stifling her, and making her scared, and therefore vulnerable to make mistakes. Time for a change! This may be Mira Sorvino’s big entrance. Nate, whom I now call “The Drifter” has finally decided to open up, but is stymied. It was the wrong time[way too late] with the wrong group, and I think he knew that but didn’t want to admit it. The fire alarm was really a directional signal, flashing"Get back into the real world, and stop being such a dookie." Brenda’s guy, can’t remember his name, will not be at the finish line with her. You can see the wheels turning in her head as she compares everything about him vs. Nate. [Her mom’s a hoot, home they don’t change her] David, David, David… Is he the classic Jekyll and Hyde, or what. He’s got a good relationship, that’s been improving steadily, and what does he do? He finds the anti-Keith, and wants to give it a go. If there’s someone on this show who desperately needs solo counseling, it’s David. [How many more episodes before they leave us hanging,again.] ---
**Author:** ![RogueRacer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@RogueRacer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RogueRacer)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-7-18-04/255764/52 "2004-07-21T19:02:31Z")
Why is almost everyone so down on George? He’s the most well adjusted person in the series. True he might be hiding something, but from what we’ve seen, he just marries the wrong women. He has good reason to be disappointed with Ruth. Oh yeah, add me to the list of people who are annoyed with Nate and also the one of people that think Rico is toast. ---
**Author:** ![vertizontal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ad7895/32.png) [@vertizontal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vertizontal)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-7-18-04/255764/53 "2004-07-21T21:06:58Z")
I wasn’t sure of the significance of the fire alarm after Nate’s speech. At the time I thought they were showing that no one is going to listen to Nate’s problems. But does everyone else agree with quiltguy, that the alarm was supposed to wake up Nate, and encourage him to snap out of his slump? Is that what actually goes on in art classes? They seemed to be really picking on Claire as a person, not on the quality of the finished work. I think George had perfectly legitimate reasons to be ticked off at Ruth. Early in the show, Keith mentioned something about David being insecure. I thought that sometime during the carjack, David would finally fight back, thus attaining his “manhood” in a way. It was disappointing that it never happened. Maybe that guy will appear in a future episode. Brenda should not have a baby with French Horn guy, and definitely should not have any more lunches with twisted mom. I never got why Rico kept going over to Sophia’s place. He wasn’t getting sex, was he? Or was he just lured by a pretty girl asking him to do things for her? Rico’s gonna be so busted next week. Will we _ever_ find out why Lisa drowned? ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2004, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-7-18-04/255764/54 "2004-07-22T06:20:32Z")
> [@Misha77](#): > > As a sidenote, please, please tell me that David doesn’t get into crack because of this episode. I’m worried because he had such a euphoric reaction to it. But I trust the writers more than that (I think). I’m just afraid that this will mess David up so much that he will become completely unlikeable… This season does seem to have a “Drugs are bad…mmmmkay” vibe to it. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2004, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-7-18-04/255764/55 "2004-07-22T15:38:54Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **vertizontal** :_ > I never got why Rico kept going over to Sophia’s place. He wasn’t getting sex, was he? Or was he just lured by a pretty girl asking him to do things for her? I think the reason can be summed up in two words: Catholic guilt. He got a blowjob out of wedlock, which in his mind is adultery and a mortal sin. He’s trying to atone for it by taking care of Sofia. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2004, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-7-18-04/255764/56 "2004-07-23T05:59:50Z")
Although the bad guy may know David’s address, he would be pretty stupid to come by David’s home. That’s a good way to have the police find you. I may have wanted the mugger to get beaten up by David, I have a feeling that this guy is going to end up dead pretty soon by a drug dealer he pissed off. He’s a psycopath, but he’s not the world’s brightest bulb. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/six-feet-under-7-18-04/255764.md?page=2)